MDTH Medcath Corp. (MM)

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MedCath Corporation (NASDAQ:MDTH), a national provider of cardiovascular care, announced today O. Edwin French will join the Company as interim Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. "Ed possesses considerable healthcare operational and leadership experience, and we are pleased to have him join our executive team on an interim basis," stated John T. Casey, MedCath's chairman and chief executive officer. "I personally asked Ed to become involved in our Company so that we can move forward in developing and executing operational initiatives in certain markets that are experiencing operating challenges." Prior to joining MedCath, Mr. French, 59, served as President, Acute Care Hospital Division for Universal Health Services, Inc. until his early retirement this year. Since then, he has been President of French Healthcare Consulting, Inc., a consulting practice specializing in operations improvement and healthcare joint ventures. He also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Physician Reliance Network from 1997 to 2000, as Senior Vice President of American Medical International from 1992 to 1995, as Executive Vice President of Samaritan Health Systems of Phoenix from 1991 to 1992 and as Senior Vice President of Methodist Health Systems, Inc. in Memphis from 1985 to 1991. MedCath Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., develops, owns and operates hospitals in partnership with physicians, most of whom are cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. While each of its majority-owned hospitals is licensed as a general acute care hospital, MedCath focuses on serving the unique needs of patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Together with its physician partners who own equity interests in them, MedCath owns and operates 12 hospitals with a total of 727 licensed beds, located in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Texas. In addition to its hospitals, MedCath provides cardiovascular care services in diagnostic and therapeutic facilities located in various states and through mobile cardiac catheterization laboratories. MedCath also provides consulting and management services tailored to cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. DATASOURCE: MedCath Corporation CONTACT: John Casey, Chairman-Chief Executive Officer, +1-704-708-6600, or James Harris, Chief Financial Officer, +1-704-708-6600, both of MedCath Corporation Web site: http://www.medcath.com/

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